Monday, September 30, 2019

Microbiology of Disease Chapter 1 Ppt

Organ Harvesting Research Paper We have all heard about the stories and have seen the movies in which the protagonist wakes up in a tub covered in tons of ice and stitches in his side only to realize that he was a victim of organ theft. There have been many movies surrounding this horrid topic, and many people believe this concept is fictitious; however these movies have partial truth to them. There are many cases across the globe in which people have been given faulty organs, and cases in which doctors have been caught in the act of harvesting organs from deceased patients, but all of these cases are a result of one single issue.The violence surrounding global organ theft and trafficking is a direct result of lengthy periods of time for legal transplants, and the only way to prevent or completely resolve this issue is to re-examine the waiting process for transplants. Aliaksei Yafimau, as are most people, was always looking for an   opportunity to make some quick cash, and he foun d this through what he thought was a profitable advertisement online that told that him he could receive a great deal of money for one of his kidneys.At 30 years old, Yafimau’s profession was installing satellite television systems in Babrujsk, Belarus for meager wages. He saw this simple operation as a step towards getting out of poverty and within a short period of time he was transported to Quito, Ecuador where he was held against his will for over a month until surgeons could remove his kidney. He was held captive by Roini Shimshilashvili, an enforcer for of an international trafficking ring, who was an intimidating former kick-boxer. Read also Lab 2 BiologyYafimau pleaded with Shimshilashvili to let him back out of the deal and return to his home in Belarus; however, he was denied and threatened. He was told that if he didn’t go through with the operation, he would be left in Ecuador and his family would be killed. Yafimau’s left kidney was transplanted into an Israeli woman in July of 2010, and on the plane ride back to Belarus, Shimshilashvili told him that if he went to the police and informed them of the details surrounding his illegal operation, he would be killed.Yafimau was paid $10,000 for his kidney, but he says that it isn’t worth the fear that he constantly lives with (Glovin, 2011). Dorin Razlog is one of the many poor people in Ghincauti, Moldova, and he earns a meager pay working as a Shepard. He is in his 30’s but only has an 8th grade education level which leaves him with very few ways to escape his current state of poverty. He was confronted by recruiters from organ tr afficking ring who informed him that he could receive $10,000 for one of his kidney’s and he went through with the harvesting operation believing that this was in his best interest.After the operation, he was paid $7,000 ($3,000 less than what they promised to pay him) and $2,500 of that was useless after realizing that he was paid with counterfeit bills. He was then told that if he spoke to anybody about the operation, they would destroy his house and kill his family. Looking back on his actions, Dorin regrets his decision because after all the money he received was gone, all he was left with was incredible pain and suffering from his operation (Glovin, 2011). Yafimau, and Dorin are just several of the many thousands of people that are victims of organ transplants every year.General Biology Ii Study Guide (Online Class)Francis Delmonico, an adviser on issues regarding organ transplants to the World Health Organization, claims that approximately 5,000 people sell their organs to the black market every year. He accredits this to increased numbers of people that require organ transplants in relation to the limited number of organs available, and as a result, organ trafficking is on the rise. Organ trafficking is illegal in every country except Iran, but it continues because the trafficking rings target those who dwell in impoverished countries and they use violence and deception to coarse people into undergoing these dangerous operations.The human body has two kidneys that filter toxins out of the blood system, and failure in both of these kidneys will result in a quick death unless hooked up to a dialysis machine or if the person receives an organ transplant. The operations that these traffickers conduct are not only unprofessional but their victims are in great danger because if anything was to happen to their single kidney they would be facing almost certain death. Delmonico believes that the people that are most at fault are the middle men who search for their future victims and organize the operations because these traffickers often sell the rgans for fifteen to twenty times the amount that they pay the person who underwent the organ harvesting to the critically ill that are in dire need for these organs (Glovin, 2011). Many of these ill people whom are desperately looking for organs often turn to trafficking rings. These people will pay up to $150,000 while the seller’s only make up to $10,000, and this is how these trafficking rings continue to operate (Glovin, 2011). The people that are purchasing the organs are only fueling the issue as a result more and more people are illegally selling their organs. Read Chapter 8 Microbial GeneticsThe number of individuals that require transplants has greatly exceeded the number of organs available since the discovery of this new operation. 86,173 people were on the waiting list in the United States for organ transplants in July of 2004 and â€Å"on average 17 patients die every day while awaiting an organ; one person every 85 minutes. On average, 115 people are added to the nation’s organ transplant waiting list each day; one every 13 minutes (Kishore, 2004). The number of individuals whom require organ transplants that do not survive long enough to undergo the operation is staggering, and it has caused many professionals to ponder as to whether or not the current waiting list system is efficient. 6,251 individuals expired while on the waiting list as a result of their organ not being donated in time (Kishore, 2004). People are usually really emotionally moved upon examination of these statistics, however what people fail to realize is that the success rate of organ transplants in the United States is much greater than the success rate of other poorer countries.Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands, and Slovenia make up what is called the â€Å"Eurotransplant Area† and this area in even a worse state than that of the United States. The success rate in the United States for patients who receive a new organ is 92% while the success rate in the Eurotransplant Area is 24%, and this is most likely a result of inferior medical equipment and surgical techniques (Kishore, 2004). People like to believe that criminals are transporting victims to abandoned warehouses and tying them down to tables and savagely extracting their organs, but this is often not the case.Most of these criminals are almost impossible to point out because they are often people that we are supposed to trust, such as our doctors, not some homeless person on the street. Bhagat Makkar, a British Doctor, was tried in court and cha rged with accounts of organ trafficking and was suspended from the medical register as a result. A journalist brought this situation to light after recording his conversation with Bhagat, posing as a son of a man who was in desperate need of a kidney.Bhagat told the journalist that he could easily find a donor in the poorer cities of India and that he might be able to find a donor in London (British MD & Organ Dealing, 2011). Three Ukrainian doctors, who are now suspected to have been part of a much larger organ trafficking ring, were also arrested after being found guilty of trafficking the organs of road accident victims in the Ukraine and transporting them via helicopter (Doctors Arrested, 2011). These doctors who are partaking in this illicit behavior are doing so for their own personal gain although in court they often claim that they were only trying to help those in need.Many of these doctors and clinical physicians harvest organs so that they are not put to waste, and this h as brought up many moral and ethical arguments among the medical community. There have already been implications set in place, such as the organ donating system in which people agree to donate their organs after they have passed away, but this system alone is not providing enough organs to save the enormous number of people that are in need of operations;Strategies such as liberalization of the concept of brain stem death; introduction of presumed consent; routine harvesting; required request; mandated choice; raising the donor’s upper age limit; relaxation of restrictions imposed on donations among family members; and allowing altruistic donations from strangers have not resolved the problem. Organ scarcity continues to prevail, leading to inequitable therapeutic dispensation; escalating costs; trade; crime; and premature death (Kishore, 2004).There have been many cases in India as well as other countries that revolve around clinicians and clinical managers harvesting organs that have gone to court or that are still under investigation. Many people think that what these clinicians have done is extremely wrong, but they only did what others could not in order to save the lives of other people. These people that went against the law, but sacrifices must be made for the better of the whole. â€Å"Millions of people are suffering, not because the organs are not available, but because â€Å"morality† does not allow them to have access to the organs† (Kishore, 2004).If everybody followed in these so called criminals footsteps, this problem could possibly be resolved without any violence necessary. Why has it been deemed criminal to save the lives of those in need using the organs of those deceased? These organs from the deceased could be considered a natural recourse and should not be wasted, but many people find this proposition to be immoral. 55. 3 million people die each year, and if each person was required to donate their organs there woul d be more than enough organs to provide to those in need (Ross, 2011).This idea has a few flaws in regards to religious beliefs, and the fact that for some religions it is forbidden to donate organs. There will also probably be people that argue that this idea violates human rights. There will be groups of people that refuse to partake in this action, but if everybody else donates their organs after they are deceased for at least one generation, we would most likely have a surplus of organs and these could be frozen and saved for people in the future.Doctors are currently able to use ice baths and a cold preservative solution to keep a kidney functional for 12-48 hours, but as technology advances doctors will hopefully be able to preserve organs for longer periods of time (Ford-Martin). Most people wish to have their deceased buried or cremated and claim that they would not want the body to be tampered with, however does it really matter what state the body is in prior to burial? Fu nerals are often seen as more of a spiritual process than simply the burial of the deceased. Faith might be one possible method for how to hook people into the idea of donating their organs.The first step in this process would be to raise awareness, and this could be done through several styles of media such as television, fliers, billboards, and campaigns. The campaign could centralize around Jesus Christ and his ultimate sacrifice and how is saved so many people. The ad could have some info on the increasing need for organ donors and then read, â€Å"What would Jesus do? † It might cause people to not be so selfish and greedy. If that approach does not work, the campaign could try and scare the public into changing their ways.A good model to follow would be the Above the Influence ads because of their successful impact on teenagers. These ads are made to scare teenagers into avoiding drugs by showing them the possibilities of how their bodies and lives could be destroyed. A commercial could be made to scare people into donating their organs so that they don’t have to constantly live in fear of being kidnapped and having their organs harvested and sold on the black market. These are a few simple ideas for changes that could be made to increase awareness about the increasing need for organ donors.The number of sick still waiting on the organ donor waiting list is steadily increasing, and if nothing is done to reverse this, more and more people will continue to die. What most people fail to realize is that these critically sick people are often paying members of global trafficking rings to hunt down an organ by any means for a hefty price. I hope that people will eventually realize that donating their organs to save somebody else’s life would be an extremely caring act, and that it would be much appreciated. If that fails, we can then attempt to scare people and say, â€Å"How would you like to have your organs harvested?This is a real pos sibility, but if everybody donates their organs there will be no business for these trafficking rings and they will eventually fall apart! Help bring trafficking rings down and save lives! † Works Cited â€Å"British MD guilty of organ dealing. †Ã‚  Toronto Star (Canada)  n. d. :  Newspaper Source. 4 Dec. 2011. Web â€Å"Doctors Arrested. † Herald Sun (Melbourne) (n. d. ): Newspaper Source. 4 Dec. 2011. Web Ford-Martin, Paula A. â€Å"Kidney Transplant – Procedure, Recovery, Test, Blood, Pain, Complications, Adults, Time, Infection, Operation, Graft, Medication, Heart, Cells, Types, Risk, Children, Cancer.   Encyclopedia of Surgery: A Guide for Patients and Caregivers. 05 Dec. 2011. Web . Glovin. â€Å"Organ Traffickers Force the Poor to Sell Kidneys†. The Day. 2011. Print Ross, Stephan. â€Å"Statistics Population, World, Countries, Cities, Religions, Roman Catholic, Muslims – Worldwide Missions – Wholesome Words. †Ã‚   Wholesome Words Christian Website. 02 Dec. 2011. Web . R R Kishore. â€Å"Human organs, scarcities, and sale: morality revisited†. Journal of Medical Ethics. 2004. Print

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Last Sacrifice Chapter Twenty-nine

THE EVENTS THAT FOLLOWED were a blur. Sonya might have kept spirit's touch at bay, but it didn't matter. I was still in shock, still unable to think. They put me in the front seat, as far from Victor as possible. Dimitri drove us somewhere–I didn't pay much attention–where he and Sonya disposed of the body. They didn't say what they did, only that it was â€Å"taken care of.' I didn't ask for details. After that, we were back and headed toward Court. Sonya and Dimitri tossed around options on what to do when we got there. Seeing as no one had yet cleared my name, the current plan was that Sonya would have to escort Jill into Court. Jill asked if she could call her parents to let them know she was okay, but Dimitri felt that was a security risk. Sonya said she'd try to reach Emily in a dream, which made Jill feel a little better. I coped during the drive by checking in on Lissa. Focusing on her took me away from the horrible guilt and emptiness I felt, the horror at what I'd done to Victor. When I was with Lissa, I wasn't me, and just then, that was my greatest desire. I didn't want to be me. But things weren't perfect for her either. Like always, a number of issues were weighing her down. She felt close–so, so close–to unraveling who had killed Tatiana. The answer seemed within her grasp, if only she could reach just a little farther. The guardians had dragged Joe the janitor in, and after a fair amount of coercion–they had methods that didn't require magical compulsion–he'd admitted to having seen the twisted-handed Moroi in my building on the night of the murder. No amount of pushing would get Joe to admit he had been paid off–by either the man or Daniella. The most he'd admit was that he might have been â€Å"a little off' in his times that night. It was by no means hard evidence to save me. Lissa had Ambrose's letter too, which had subtly threatened Tatiana. The writer had opposed the age law for being soft, disapproved of Tatiana's endorsement of spirit, and resented the secret training sessions. The letter might have been perfectly polite, but whoever penned it had had a serious grudge against the queen. That supported the political motive theories. Of course, there were still lots of personal motives for the murder too. The sordid mess with Ambrose, Blake, and the women involved pegged any of them as the murderer. Daniella Ivashkov being on that list was a constant point of stress for Lissa, and she dared not breathe a word to Adrian. The saving grace there was that Daniella's bribery had been to get Adrian out of trouble–not solidify my guilt. The unknown Moroi had funded that bribe. Surely, if she had killed Tatiana, Daniella would have paid for both of Joe's lies. And of course, there was the last test pressing against Lissa's mind. The riddle. The riddle that seemed to have so many answers–and yet, none at all.What must a queen possess in order to truly rule her people? In some ways, it was more difficult than the other tests. Those had had a hands-on component, so to speak. This? This was her own intellect. No fire to build. No fear to look in the eye. She hated that she took the riddle so seriously too. She didn't need its stress, not with everything else going on. Life would have been simpler if she'd kept treating the trials simply as a scam to buy us time. The Court was continually swelling with those who had come to see the election, and more and more of them–much to her disbelief–were throwing their support behind her. She could hardly walk anywhere without people calling out about â€Å"the Dragon' or â€Å"Alexandra reborn.' Word of her attack had gotten out too, which seemed to have fueled her supporters even more. But, of course, Lissa still had plenty of opposition. The biggest case against her was the same old legal one: that she wouldn't be eligible for votes when the time came. Another mark against her was her age. She was too young, her opponents said. Who would want a child on the throne? But Lissa's admirers wouldn't hear any of it. They kept citing young Alexandra's rule and the miracles Lissa had wrought with her healing. Age was irrelevant. The Moroi needed young blood, they cried. They also demanded the voting laws be changed. Unsurprisingly, her opponents also kept bringing up the fact that she was tied to a queen-killing murderer. I'd have thought that would have been the biggest issue in her candidacy, but she'd been so convincing about how I'd shocked and betrayed her that many felt her being queen would actually right the wrong I'd committed. She'd used bits of compulsion whenever the topic came up, which also went a long way in making others think she was now completely dissociated from me. â€Å"I'm so tired of this,' Lissa told Christian, back in her room. She'd sought escape there and was lying on her bed in his arms. My mom was there, on guard. â€Å"This queen thing was a horrible idea.' Christian stroked her hair. â€Å"It's not. Abe said the election will be delayed because of the uproar. And no matter how much you complain, I know you're proud you made it this far.' It was true. The chalice test had cut the nominees in half. Only five remained. Ariana Szelsky was one of them, as was Daniella's cousin, Rufus Tarus. Lissa was the third, with Marcus Lazar and Marie Conta rounding out the group. Ronald Ozera hadn't made it through. My mother spoke up. â€Å"I've never seen anything like this–it's incredible how much support you're getting. The Council and other royals are under no obligations to change the law. But the mob's loud †¦ and gaining the love of â€Å"commoners' could benefit certain royals. Standing by your claim to run would certainly reflect well on a couple families that are out of favor. What's holding them back is the thought that you might actually win. So they'll just keep arguing and arguing.' Lissa stiffened. â€Å"Winning †¦ that's not really possible, is it? Ariana's got it sealed †¦ right?' Winning had never been a part of this crazy plan, and now, with so few candidates, the pressure was even greater to get Ariana on the throne. As far as Lissa was concerned, the other candidates showed no promise of improving Moroi life. Ariana had to win. â€Å"I'd say so,' said Janine. There was pride in her voice, seeing how close she was to the Szelsky family. â€Å"Ariana's brilliant and competent, and most people know it. She'd treat dhampirs fairly–more so than some of the other candidates. She's already spoken about reversing the age law.' The thought of worse laws oppressing the dhampirs made Lissa's stomach sink. â€Å"God, I hope she wins. We can't have anything else go wrong.' A knock at the door snapped my mom into full guardian mode until Lissa said, â€Å"It's Adrian.' â€Å"Well,' muttered Christian, â€Å"at least his timing's better than usual.' Sure enough, my boyfriend entered, wreathed in his now usual scent of smoke and liquor. True, his vices were the least of my concerns, but it kept bugging me that he needed me to be there in person to enforce his good behavior. It reminded me of when he said I was his strength. â€Å"Get up, guys,' he said. He looked very pleased with himself. â€Å"We've got a visit to pay.' Lissa sat up, puzzled. â€Å"What are you talking about?' â€Å"I am not hanging out with Blake Lazar again,' warned Christian. â€Å"You and me both,' said Adrian. â€Å"I've got someone better. And more attractive. Remember how you were wondering how close Serena was to Grant? Well, looks like you can ask her yourself. I found her. And yes, you're welcome.' A frown crossed my mother's face. â€Å"Last I heard, Serena had been sent away to teach at a school. One on the east coast, I think.' After the Strigoi attack that had killed Grant and several others, the guardians had decided to pull Serena from active bodyguard duty for a while. She'd been the only guardian to survive. â€Å"She is, but since it's summer, they brought her back to help with election crowd control. She's working the front gates.' Lissa and Christian exchanged looks. â€Å"We have to talk to her,' said Lissa excitedly. â€Å"She might have known who Grant was secretly teaching.' â€Å"That doesn't mean one of them killed Tatiana,' warned my mother. Lissa nodded. â€Å"No, but there's a connection, if Ambrose's letter is right. She's there now? At the gates?' â€Å"Yup,' said Adrian. â€Å"And we probably don't even need to buy her a drink.' â€Å"Then let's go.' Lissa stood and reached for her shoes. â€Å"Are you sure?' asked Christian. â€Å"You know what's waiting out there.' Lissa hesitated. It was late at â€Å"night' for Moroi, but that didn't mean everyone was in bed–especially at the gates, which was always jam-packed with people lately. Clearing my name was too important, Lissa decided. â€Å"Yeah. Let's do it.' With my mother leading the way, my friends made their way to the Court's entrance. (The â€Å"door' that Abe had made had been patched up.) The Court was surrounded in high, multicolored stone walls that helped further the human image that this was actually an elite school. Wrought iron gates at the entrance stood open, but a group of guardians blocked the road leading into Court grounds. Normally, only two guardians would have manned the booth at the gate. The extra numbers were both for greater interrogation of cars and for crowd control. Spectators lined the road's sides, watching the arriving cars as though they were at a red carpet premiere. Janine knew a roundabout way that avoided some people–but not all. â€Å"Don't cringe,' Christian told Lissa as they passed a particularly vocal group, which had noticed her. â€Å"You're a queenly nominee. Act like it. You deserve this. You're the last Dragomir. A daughter of royalty.' Lissa gave him a brief, astonished look, surprised to hear the fierceness in his voice– and that he clearly believed his words. Straightening up, she turned toward her fans, smiling and waving back, which excited them that much more. Take this seriously, she reminded herself. Don't disgrace our history. In the end, getting through the crowd to the gate proved easier than getting time alone with Serena. The guardians were swamped and insisted on keeping Serena for screening, but my mom had a quick conversation with the guardian in charge. She reminded him of Lissa's importance and offered to stand in for Serena for a few minutes. Serena had long since healed from the Strigoi attack. She was my age, blond-haired and pretty. She was clearly surprised to see her former charge. â€Å"Princess,' she said, maintaining formalities. â€Å"How can I help you?' Lissa pulled Serena away from the cluster of guardians speaking to the Moroi drivers lined up at the gate. â€Å"You can call me Lissa. You know that. You taught me to stab pillows, after all.' Serena gave her a small smile. â€Å"Things have changed. You might be our next queen.' Lissa grimaced. â€Å"Unlikely.' Especially since I have no clue how to solve that riddle, she thought. â€Å"But I do need your help. You and Grant spent a lot of time together †¦ did he ever mention training Moroi for Tatiana? Like, secret combat sessions?' Serena's face gave the answer away, and she averted her eyes. â€Å"I'm not supposed to talk about that. He wasn't even supposed to tell me.' Lissa gripped the young guardian's arm in excitement, making Serena flinch. â€Å"You have to tell me what you know. Anything. Who he was training †¦ how they felt about it †¦ who was successful. Anything.' Serena paled. â€Å"I can't,' she whispered. â€Å"It was done in secret. On the queen's orders.' â€Å"My aunt's dead,' said Adrian bluntly. â€Å"And you said yourself you might be talking to the future queen.' This earned a glare from Lissa. Serena hesitated, then took a deep breath. â€Å"I can pull together a list of names. I might not remember all of them, though. And I have no clue how well they were doing–only that a lot resented it. Grant felt like Tatiana had purposely picked those most unwilling.' Lissa squeezed her hand. â€Å"Thank you. Thank you so much.' Serena still looked pained at giving up the secret information. They come first didn't always work when your loyalties were split. â€Å"I'll have to get it to you later, though. They need me here.' Serena returned to her post, bringing my mother back to Lissa. As for me, I returned to my own reality in the car, which had come to a stop. I blinked to clear my eyes and take in our surroundings. Another hotel. We should have had gold member status by now. â€Å"What's going on?' â€Å"We're stopping,' said Dimitri. â€Å"You need to rest.' â€Å"No, I don't. We need to keep going to Court. We need to get Jill there in time for the elections.' Our initial goal in finding Jill had been to give Lissa voting power. It had since occurred to us that if Lissa running was mucking up the elections, the surprise appearance of her sister would likely create just as much sensation and disbelief. A genetic test would clear up any doubts and give Lissa her voting power, but the initial confusion would buy us more of the time we so badly needed to find the murderer. In spite of the random evidence my friends kept turning up, they still had no substantial theories on a culprit. Dimitri gave me a don't lie to me look. â€Å"You were just with Lissa. Are the elections actually happening yet?' â€Å"No,' I admitted. â€Å"Then you're getting some rest.' â€Å"I'm fine,' I snapped. But those fools wouldn't listen to me. Checking in was complicated because none of us had a credit card, and it wasn't the hotel's policy to take a cash deposit. Sonya compelled the desk clerk into thinking it was their policy, and before long, we had booked two adjoining rooms. â€Å"Let me talk to her alone,' Dimitri murmured to Sonya. â€Å"I can handle it.' â€Å"Be careful,' Sonya warned. â€Å"She's fragile.' â€Å"You guys, I'm right here!' I exclaimed. Sonya took Jill's arm and guided her into one of the rooms. â€Å"Come on, let's order room service.' Dimitri opened the other door and looked at me expectantly. With a sigh, I followed and sat on the bed, my arms crossed. The room was a hundred times nicer than the one in West Virginia. â€Å"Can we order room service?' He pulled up a chair and sat opposite me, only a couple feet away. â€Å"We need to talk about what happened with Victor.' â€Å"There's nothing to talk about,' I said bleakly. The dark feelings I'd been shoving back during the drive suddenly fell upon me. They smothered me. I felt more claustrophobic than when I'd been in the cell. Guilt was its own prison. â€Å"I really am the murderer everyone says I am. It doesn't matter that it was Victor. I killed him in cold blood.' â€Å"That was hardly cold blood.' â€Å"The hell it wasn't!' I cried, feeling tears spring to my eyes. â€Å"The plan was to subdue him and Robert so we could free Jill. Subdue. Victor wasn't a threat to me. He was an old man, for God's sake.' â€Å"He seemed like a threat,' said Dimitri. His calmness was the counter to my growing hysteria, as usual. â€Å"He was using his magic.' I shook my head, burying my face in my hands. â€Å"It wasn't going to kill me. He probably couldn't have even kept it up much longer. I could have waited it out or escaped. Hell, I did escape! But instead of capturing him, I slammed him against a concrete wall! He was no match for me. An old man. I killed an old man. Yeah, maybe he was a scheming, corrupt old man, but I didn't want him dead. I wanted him locked up again. I wanted him to spend the rest of his life in prison, living with his crimes. Living, Dimitri.' It seemed strange that I'd feel this way, considering how much I hated Victor. But it was true: it hadn't been a fair fight. I'd acted without thinking. My training had always been about defense and striking out against monsters. Honor had never really come up, but suddenly, it meant a lot to me. â€Å"There was no honor in what I did to him.' â€Å"Sonya said it wasn't your fault.' Dimitri's voice was still gentle, which somehow made me feel worse. I wished he'd chastise me, confirming the guilt I felt. I wanted him to be my critical instructor. â€Å"She said it was a backlash of spirit.' â€Å"It was†¦ .' I paused, recalling the haze of that fight as best I could. â€Å"I never really understood what Lissa experienced in her worst moments until then. I just looked at Victor †¦ and I saw everything evil in the world–an evil I had to stop. He was bad, but he didn't deserve that. He never stood a chance.' Honor, I kept thinking. What honor is there in that? â€Å"You aren't listening, Rose. It wasn't your fault. Spirit's a powerful magic we barely understand. And its dark edge †¦ well, we know it's capable of terrible things. Things that can't be controlled.' I lifted my eyes to his. â€Å"I should have been stronger than it.' There it was. The thought behind all my guilt, all these horrible emotions. â€Å"I should have been stronger than it. I was weak.' Dimitri's reassuring words didn't come so quickly. â€Å"You aren't invincible,' he said at last. â€Å"No one expects you to be.' â€Å"I do. What I did †¦' I swallowed. â€Å"What I did was unforgivable.' His eyes widened in shock. â€Å"That †¦ that's crazy, Rose. You can't punish yourself for something you had no power over.' â€Å"Yeah? Then why are you still–‘ I stopped because I'd been about to accuse Dimitri of continuing to punish himself. Except †¦ he no longer was. Did he feel guilt for what he'd done as a Strigoi? I was certain of it. Sonya had admitted as much. But somewhere in this journey, he had taken control of his life again, bit by bit. She'd told me that, but only now did I truly understand. â€Å"When?' I asked. â€Å"When did it change? When did you realize you could keep living– even after all that guilt?' â€Å"I'm not sure.' If the question surprised him, he hid it. His eyes were locked with mine, but they weren't quite focused on me. The puzzle occupied him. â€Å"In bits, really. When Lissa and Abe first came to me about breaking you out, I was ready to do it because she asked me to. Then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was personal too. I couldn't stand the thought of you locked in a cell, being cut off from the world. It wasn't right. No one should live like that, and it occurred to me that I was doing the same–by choice. I was cutting myself off from the world with guilt and self-punishment. I had a second chance to live, and I was throwing it away.' I was still in turmoil, still raging and full of grief, but his story kept me quiet and transfixed. Hearing him pour his heart out was a rare opportunity. â€Å"You heard me talk about this before,' he continued. â€Å"About my goal to appreciate life's little details. And the more we continued on our journey, the more I remembered who I was. Not just a fighter. Fighting is easy. It's why we fight that matters, and in the alley that night with Donovan †¦' He shuddered. â€Å"That was the moment I could have crossed over into someone who fights just to senselessly kill–but you pulled me back, Rose. That was the turning point. You saved me †¦ just as Lissa saved me with the stake. I knew then that in order to leave the Strigoi part of me behind, I had to fight through to be what theyaren't. I had to embrace what they reject: beauty, love, honor.' Right then, I was two people. One was overjoyed. Hearing him talk like that, realizing he was fighting his demons and close to victory †¦ well, I nearly wept with joy. It was what I'd wanted for him for so long. At the same time, his inspiring words only reminded me how far I'd fallen. My sorrow and self-pity took over again. â€Å"Then you should understand,' I said bitterly. â€Å"You just said it: honor. It matters. We both know it does. I've lost mine. I lost it out there in the parking lot when I killed an innocent.' â€Å"And I've killed hundreds,' he said flatly. â€Å"People much more innocent than Victor Dashkov.' â€Å"It's not the same! You couldn't help it!' My feelings exploded to the surface again. â€Å"Why are we repeating the same things over and over?' â€Å"Because they aren't sinking in! You couldn't help it either.' His patience was cracking. â€Å"Feel guilty. Mourn this. But move on. Don't let it destroy you. Forgive yourself.' I leapt to my feet, catching him by surprise. I leaned down, putting us face to face. â€Å"Forgive myself? That's what you want? You of all people?' Words seemed to escape him. I think it had to do with my proximity. He managed a nod. â€Å"Then tell me this. You say you moved past the guilt, decided to revel in life and all that. I get it. But have you, in your heart, really forgiven yourself? I told you a long time ago that I forgave you for everything in Siberia, but what about you? Have you done it?' â€Å"I just said–‘ â€Å"No. It's not the same. You're telling me to forgive myself and move on. But you won't do it yourself. You're a hypocrite, comrade. We're either both guilty or both innocent. Pick.' He rose as well, looking down at me from that lofty height. â€Å"It's not that simple.' I crossed my arms over my chest, refusing to be intimidated. â€Å"It is that simple. We're the same! Even Sonya says we are. We've always been the same, and we're both acting the same stupid way now. We hold ourselves up to a higher standard than everyone else.' Dimitri frowned. â€Å"I–Sonya? What does she have to do with any of this?' â€Å"She said our auras match. She said we light up around each other. She says it means you still love me and that we're in sync, and †¦' I sighed and turned away, wandering across the room. â€Å"I don't know. I shouldn't have mentioned it. We shouldn't buy into this aura stuff when it comes from magic users who are already half-insane.' I reached the window and leaned my forehead against the cool glass, trying to decide what to do. Forgive myself. Could I? A small city sprawled before me, though I'd lost track of where we were. Cars and people moved below, souls out living their lives. I took a deep breath. The image of Victor on the asphalt was going to stay with me for a long, long time. I had done something horrible, even if my intentions were good, but everyone was right: I hadn't been myself. Did that change what had happened? Would that bring Victor back? No. And honestly, I didn't know how I would move past what I'd done, how I'd shake the bloody images in my head. I just knew I had to go on. â€Å"If I let this stop me,' I murmured, â€Å"if I do nothing †¦ then that's the greater evil. I'll do more good by surviving. By continuing to fight and protect others.' â€Å"What are you saying?' asked Dimitri. â€Å"I'm saying †¦ I forgive myself. That doesn't make everything perfect, but it's a start.' My fingertip traced the line of a tiny crack in the glass's surface. â€Å"Who knows? Maybe that outburst in the parking lot let out some of the darkness Sonya says is in my aura. Skeptic that I am, I have to give her some points. She was right that I was at a breaking point, that all I needed was a spark.' â€Å"She was right about something else too,' Dimitri said after a long pause. My back was to him, but there was a strange quality to his voice that made me turn around. â€Å"What's that?' I asked. â€Å"That I do still love you.' With that one sentence, everything in the universe changed. Time slowed to one heartbeat. The world became his eyes, his voice. This wasn't happening. It wasn't real. None of it could be real. It felt like a spirit dream. I resisted the urge to close my eyes and see if I'd wake up moments later. No. No matter how unbelievable it all seemed, this was no dream. This was real. This was life. This was flesh and blood. â€Å"Since †¦ since when?' I finally managed to ask. â€Å"Since †¦ forever.' His tone implied the answer was obvious. â€Å"I denied it when I was restored. I had no room for anything in my heart except guilt. I especially felt guilty about you–what I'd done–and I pushed you away. I put up a wall to keep you safe. It worked for a while–until my heart finally started accepting other emotions. And it all came back. Everything I felt for you. It had never left; it was just hidden from me until I was ready. And again †¦ that alley was the turning point. I looked at you †¦ saw your goodness, your hope, and your faith. Those are what make you beautiful. So, so beautiful.' â€Å"So it wasn't my hair,' I said, unsure how I was even capable of making a joke at a time like this. â€Å"No,' he said gently. â€Å"Your hair was beautiful too. All of you. You were amazing when we first met, and somehow, inexplicably, you've come even farther. You've always been pure, raw energy, and now you control it. You're the most amazing woman I've ever met, and I'm glad to have had that love for you in my life. I regret losing it.' He grew pensive. â€Å"I would give anything–anything–in the world to go back and change history. To run into your arms after Lissa brought me back. To have a life with you. It's too late, of course, but I've accepted it.' â€Å"Why †¦ why is it too late?' Dimitri's eyes grew sad. â€Å"Because of Adrian. Because you've moved on. No, listen,' he said, cutting off my protests. â€Å"You were right to do that after how I treated you. And more than anything else, I want you to be happy once we clear your name and get Jill recognized. You said yourself that Adrian makes you happy. You said you love him.' â€Å"But †¦ you just said you love me. That you want to be with me.' My words seemed clumsy, unworthy of his eloquence. â€Å"And I told you: I'm not going to pursue another man's girlfriend. You want to talk honor? There it is in its purest form.' I walked toward him, each step ramping up the tension around us. Dimitri kept saying the alley was his turning point. For me? It was now. I stood on the precipice of something that would change my life. For the last week, I'd done a very good job of detaching myself from anything romantic with Dimitri. And yet †¦ had I? What was love, really? Flowers, chocolate, and poetry? Or was it something else? Was it being able to finish someone's jokes? Was it having absolute faith that someone was there at your back? Was it knowing someone so well that they instantly understood why you did the things you did–and shared those same beliefs? All week, I'd claimed my love for Dimitri was fading. In reality, it had been growing more and more. I hadn't even realized it was happening. I had been re-establishing our old rapport, strengthening the connection. Reaffirming that of all the people in the world–even Lissa–Dimitri was the only one who truly gotme. I'd meant it: I loved Adrian. It was hard to imagine life without him, but my other words at the Mastranos' had betrayed me: I have fun with him. Now, you should have fun with the one you love, but that shouldn't have been what first came to mind. I should have said, We strengthen each other. Or, He makes me want to be a better person. Perhaps most importantly: He understands me perfectly. But none of that was true, so I hadn't said those things. I'd sought Adrian for comfort. His familiarity and humor were an important part of my world. And if he was in danger? I'd throw my life before his, just as I would for Lissa. Yet, I didn't inspire him, not really. He was trying. He did want to be a better person, but at this moment in his life, his motivations were more about impressing others–about impressing me. It wasn't for himself. That didn't make him bad or weak, but it made me his crutch. He would get past that, I was certain. He would eventually come into his own and be an amazing man, but he wasn't at that point of self-discovery yet. I was. I stood in front of Dimitri now, looking into those dark eyes again, the eyes I loved so much. I placed my hands on his chest, feeling his heart beating strong and steady–and maybe a bit faster than normal. Warmth spread through my fingertips. He reached up and caught hold of my wrists but didn't push me away. The lines of that gorgeous face looked strained as he fought some inner conflict, but now that I knew–now that I knew for sure–I could see his love for me. Love mingled with desire. It was so, so obvious. â€Å"You should have told me,' I said. â€Å"You should have told me this a long time ago. I love you. I've never stopped loving you. You have to know that.' His breath caught when I said I love you, and I could see his internal struggle for control become an all-out war. â€Å"It wouldn't have made any difference. Not with Adrian involved,' he said. The fingers around my hand tightened slightly as though he really might push me away this time. He didn't. â€Å"I mean it. I won't be that guy, Rose. I won't be that man who takes someone else's woman. Now, please. Let go. Don't make this any more difficult.' I ignored the request. If he'd wanted to get away from me, he could have. I splayed my fingers, touching more of his chest, drinking in the feel of that warm contact I'd missed for so long. â€Å"I don't belong to him,' I said in a low voice, pushing close to Dimitri and tilting my head back so that I could see his face clearly. So much emotion, so much conflict as his heart tried to decide right from wrong. Being pressed against him felt like †¦ completion. Sonya had said no couple could share one aura or one soul, but ours weren't meant to be apart. They fit together like a puzzle, two individuals making something greater than themselves. â€Å"I don't belong to anyone. I make my own choices.' â€Å"And you're with Adrian,' said Dimitri. â€Å"But I was meant for you.' And that did it. Any pretense of control or reason either of us possessed melted away. The walls crumbled, and everything we'd been holding back from each other came rushing out. I reached up, pulling us together for a kiss–a kiss he didn't let go this time. A kiss I didn't end by punching him. His arms encircled me as he lifted me onto the bed, one hand soon sliding along my hip and down to my leg, already half-bare, thanks to that poor tattered dress. Every nerve in my body lit up, and I felt that desire returned in him–and then some. After a world of death, he seemed to appreciate love more. Not only that, he needed it. He needed life. He needed me–not just physically, but in the same way my heart and soul always cried out for him. What we did then, as our clothes came off and we brought our bodies together became more than just lust–even though there was plenty of that too. Being with him after so long, after everything we'd endured †¦ it was like coming home. Like finally being where–with whom–I belonged. My world, my heart †¦ they'd shattered when I lost him. But as he looked at me, as his lips spoke my name and ran along my skin †¦ I knew those pieces could come back together. And I knew, with absolute certainty, that waiting for this–for my second time having sex–had been the right thing to do. Anyone else, any other time †¦ it would have been wrong. When we finished, it was like we still couldn't get close enough. We held each other tightly, our limbs entwined, as though maybe closing the distance now would make up for the distance that had been between us for so long. I closed my eyes, my senses flooded with him, and sighed dreamily. â€Å"I'm glad you gave in. I'm glad your self-control isn't as strong as mine.' This made him laugh, and I felt it rumble through his chest. â€Å"Roza, my self-control is ten times stronger than yours.' I opened my eyes, shifting to look into his. I brushed his hair back and smiled, certain my heart would expand and expand until there was nothing left of me. â€Å"Oh yeah? That's not the impression I just got.' â€Å"Wait until next time,' he warned. â€Å"I'll do things that'll make you lose control within seconds.' That comment was just asking for a witty Rose Hathaway quip. It also made my blood burn, which was why we were both surprised when I abruptly said, â€Å"There may not be a next time.' Dimitri's hand, tracing the shape of my shoulder, froze. â€Å"What? Why?' â€Å"We have a couple of things to do before this happens again.' â€Å"Adrian,' he guessed. I nodded. â€Å"And that's my problem, so put your honor-able thoughts aside. I have to face him and answer for this. I will. And you †¦' I couldn't believe what I was about to say. I couldn't believe I meant it. â€Å"You still have to forgive yourself if we're going to be together.' His puzzled expression turned to pain. â€Å"Rose–‘ â€Å"I'm serious.' I met his eyes unflinchingly. â€Å"You have to forgive yourself. For real. Everyone else has. If you can't, then you can't go on either. We can't.' It was one of the biggest gambles of my life. Once, I would have run to him without question, ignoring our problems, overjoyed just to be with him. Now †¦ after everything I'd been through, I'd changed. I loved him. I loved him so much, and I wanted him. But it was because of the strength of that love that I had to do this. If were going to be together, we had to do it the right way. Sex had been amazing, but it wasn't a magical cure for everything. Damn. Somewhere along the way, I'd picked up common sense. I still intended to confront Adrian. And if Dimitri wouldn't do what I asked, I really would walk away. I'd lose both men, but it was better to be alone with my self-respect than be in the wrong relationship. â€Å"I don't know,' Dimitri said at last. â€Å"I don't know if I can †¦ if I'm ready.' â€Å"Decide soon then,' I said. â€Å"You don't have to right this second, but eventually †¦' I didn't push the topic after that. For now, I would let it go, though I knew he would hold onto it and grasp its importance. I knew I was right to stand by it too. He couldn't be happy with me if he wasn't happy with himself. It occurred to me then, as I stood up for myself and what I needed, that our old teacher-student roles were gone forever. Now we really were equals. I rested my head on his chest and felt him relax. We'd bask in this moment, if only for a little longer. Sonya had said we needed â€Å"rest,' making me think we still had some time here before the ticking clock drove us back to Court. As Dimitri and I continued to keep close to one another, I found myself actually wanting to sleep. I was exhausted from the fight–which, I realized, had taken a very unexpected turn. My guilt and despair over Victor and the explosion of spirit had taken their toll too, no matter the healing locket still around my neck. And yes, I thought with a small smile, I was simply exhausted from what Dimitri and I had just done. It was kind of nice to use my body for something that didn't result in serious injury for a change. I fell asleep in his embrace, blackness wrapping around me as warmly as his arms. It should have been that simple. It should have been peaceful, happy rest. But as usual, I wasn't that lucky. A spirit dream pulled me from the enveloping depths of sleep, and for half a second, I thought maybe Robert Doru had come for me to take revenge for his brother's death. But, no. No vindictive Dashkov. Instead, I found myself staring into a pair of emerald- green eyes. Adrian.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Human Resource Management; Challenges and Changes Essay

Human Resource Management; Challenges and Changes - Essay Example This is an HR challenge that one perceives because it keeps him out of touch with his family and makes him feel alienated from his immediate social and family circles. Alan cannot be with his family whenever he needs to be, which is indeed something that does not go down well of his association to the organization (Werling 2005). One can be certain that other employees feel the same way but do not express such feelings as they are bound to remain tight-lipped on their feelings, emotions and sentiments within the realms of the workplace. One can believe that finding an immediate solution to this anomaly by the HR is something that will go down well with a number of employees. It will give all of them a room to feel relaxed, so that they can give their best as far as their work manifestations are concerned. HR challenges like these pose as serious threats for the new entrants within any

Friday, September 27, 2019

Crossover of Opera to Popular Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Crossover of Opera to Popular Music - Essay Example Opera music also has an extended work that is dramatic in nature. How opera crossed over to film commercials and radios In Western opera, narratives are usually expressed musically in radio commercials. This may seem unrealistic at times. Several arias can be removed from opera music without affecting the story lines at any point in time. Despite removing all the gratuitous arias, Western opera music has never been criticized at any point. The reason is that most people believe that opera is a little concerned with narrative of the economy and realism. Hindi films are perfect examples that show how opera music has transformed from the music part into films. The powerful films, television, radio commercials and the internet demonstrate steps taken by India to embrace the crossover. It is arguable that some Hindi songs are better incorporated and presented. The music has incorporated opera music into their films. Their films are gratuitous and they can be seen to arise from familiarity of some set conventions. These conventions deem the cinema with characters voicing their emotions. Although there is immense pressure from Hollywood, high Western and cultural discourses see the Hindi films immature and unrealistic due to the incorporation of opera music in their films. The musical nature of Hindi films is usually characterized as expressing emotions in a large way. With their films not showing any signs of abandoning one of the most important parts of the narrative expression, it is harmless to say that Hindi film songs have demonstrated incorporation of opera music into their films. They tend to retain the cinematic and dramatic qualities rather than become an independent tradition. How music listeners listen to opera music even though they do not realize. There are people who listen to music but they do not know what kind of music they are listening to. They may even be watching Hindi films that have got opera music incorporated in them, but they have never know n that they are listening to opera music. For one to actually appreciate the music, one should buy a ticket so that they can appreciate the music. Many people feel that opera music may not be proper for the first time. Before one sits down to enjoy the music, a little of effort is required from the listener. One should know the kind of work that is going to be performed early in advance. The listener should have learnt, at least early enough, about the music. This is done by listening to the music before and understanding it perfectly well. For sure, listening to the music is a source of joy and fulfillment either at home or in the theatre. The first thing that people should do in order to learn the music is to know the story. This is quite crucial as it helps to know the synopsis and understand the libretto. Both the libretto and synopsis are found in the CD set. They can also be found in the internet. Conceptualizing themes Habanera Habanera is a famous aria that originates from t he opera Carmen. It was written by Georges Bizet. The habanera is at times referred to as â€Å"Love is a rebellious bird†. Habanera is usually based on a scale that is chromatic in nature and descending. It is then followed with variants of similar phrases in the major and minor keys. They usually correspond to the vicissitudes of lyrics that are expressed in the form of love. A brief synopsis of the story of Carmen The story was done George Bizet and this was one of his famous opera. The setting was in Spain

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane Essay

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane - Essay Example Among such personages are "the loud soldier" Wilson, who initially behaves with bravado but gradually manifests a personal change that turns him into a person who "showed a quiet belief in his purpose and his abilities" (Crane 1990, ch.14, par.14), and Jim Conklin, who is a strong and self-assertive soldier realistic about war, thus serving from the beginning of the novel as a contrast to romantic Henry. The way Conklin stoically endures hardships also makes him different from Wilson with his loud dissatisfaction. The plot of the novel develops as a Union regiment waits for the engagement into hostilities, during which time Fleming, attracted by the prospect of glory, is at the same time worried about his courage. After experiencing the battle and feeling himself insignificant in it, Fleming flees. From this moment start his tormenting attempts of self-reconciliation, as he initially tries to justify his behavior aimed at preservation of his life. But he encounters a dead body in the forest, which reminds him of the insignificance of human life, and when he later joins the group of wounded soldiers he wishes to have a wound too, associating it with "the red badge of courage". As he is ashamed by the questions of a tattered solider about his wound, and as he sees the dignified death of Conklin, Fleming is prepared for the change of his attitude. After he is wounded by another fleeing soldier and returns to his camp where Wilson, who now is different from the loud soldier he used to be, cares for him, Fleming returns to the battle and is seen as the most courageous soldier. As he reflects on his new perception of war, he no longer strives for glory, and realizes that he withstood "the red sickness" of battle. On ground of this, and considering the title of the book, we can immediately see that the notion of courage constitutes the main theme of the narrative. Indeed, as the story of the young soldier develops, we, along with Fleming, are defining courage, wish to achieve it, and, finally, see Henry obtain it. In the beginning of the story Henry Fleming perceives courage in a romantic way as he imagines that akin to heroes of the past he will return from war with his shield or on his shield, but certainly with glory surrounding him. In this way, for Fleming courage represents an external measure equated to envy from the side of men, and increased attention from the side women. Since the very beginning of the novel Henry demonstrates his rejection of alternative interpretations of courage as he disagrees with the advice of his mother to fulfil his duties in a honest way, even if this would endanger his life. This disparity between definitions of courage would be present throughout the book. For example, it is at its greatest when Henry leaves in the forest the wounded soldier who is annoying him with the questions about Henrys wound, and this disparity diminishes as Henry excels in his first battle. Finally, as the novel comes to the end, Fleming triumphantly returns from the battle being already mature, and having at this point a realistic understanding of how difficult it may be for the courage to emerge. Now, courage is no longer a product of opinions of other people, but rather it represents the product of deeply felt concerns about reputation and self-respect of a soldier. Thus, we can see how "the red badge of courage", in literal meaning of a wound and in symbolic meaning of the internal conflict, is a painful but often

Describe and analyse the influence of the independant sector on health Essay

Describe and analyse the influence of the independant sector on health care provision in england - Essay Example They are formed and registered by the associated authority. In England, private medication is provided by private medical clubs, occupational medical services, work clubs, fee for service insurances, friendly societies, public medical clubs which was funded by subscription and medical fees paid on an adhoc basis, charities and voluntary hospitals. Doyle & Bull (2000: 122) state that private health care in England serves an important duty as it provides medication to very many people. For example, very many people were insured against health by insuring companies, friendly societies and cash plan companies in the year 1947.These group represents 77% of severe medical and psychiatric impatient and outpatient hospital treatment in the private sector. This is mostly when there is a problem concerning psychiatry, care of the elder, abortion (termination of pregnancy) and through waiting list initiatives. Most of the people in the United States of America do insure themselves with the private medical insurance. The elder and the social classes do insure against the same. Richer people chose to insure with private medical insurance to the extent of about 24% while the poor insures themselves relatively about 3% (Doyle & Bull, 2000:153). According to Shirom (2001: 17), employers are currently doing efforts to insure their employees so as to ensure a stable workforce. In this case there are some experts who practice to insure themselves privately. Some of insurers have established ways to converse and agree about the nature and quality of care offered to insured patients. Also the fact of using the medicine with proven evidence is now affecting the private sectors. The insurance companies notice that some of the procedures are not followed. A good example includes inserting grommets for glue ear and dilation, and curettage in younger woman. Private sectors usually are operated by the individuals and they may not be the government projects, they are in

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Airport Planning and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Airport Planning and Development - Essay Example Factors such as job creation and increasing revenue to the government inform the decision to expand Heathrow airport (Holland-Kaye, 2014). The expansion of Gatwick airport, for instance, would raise 90 billion pounds of economic benefit at an afforded environmental cost because; it has never breached UK air quality guidelines since it is located in the rural, which is sparsely populated. However, the number of people affected by noise at Heathrow airport is high because it is located in a city that is densely populated and, therefore, hindering its expansion. London Heathrow airport has programs to enhance development that has small or no impact on the environment. Several factors influence the balance between the environment and the expansion of the airport in terms of its facilities and the revenue base. The pros of this issue entail factors that favor the development of an airport. For instance, to maintain the growth of tourism industry, there is need to include an additional runway, which will accommodate the high influx of tourists both domestic and foreign. Expansion of airport capacity promotes the business of a given country. A country can competitively conduct its businesses locally and internationally since there is adequate space for exports and imports. Travel growth is predicted to rise globally. Airport capacity expansion aims at meeting the rising demand for aviation services. Lack of employment is another favorable factor facilitating the expansion of an airport in terms its facilities. Expansion of the airport would create more jobs for pilots, airhostess among others. Both the public and the airport company will benefit, for instance, the public will get salary through employment while the airport company gain increased revenues through earnings. Heathrow employs over 110, 000 people including hotels

Monday, September 23, 2019

Keeping Schools Safe During Tight Budget Times Essay

Keeping Schools Safe During Tight Budget Times - Essay Example Parents can be able to understand and forgive educators and stakeholders in the education sector if they fail in their performance, but they find it difficult to forgive if their children are hurt through accidents or incidents which could have been avoided through strategic management or planning. The media and attorneys, also support parents in their initiative. These groups advocate for educators to be proactive even during tough economic times and stringent financial times. In today’s post-Columbine era, school safety has brewed a potent storm that has seen a number of events threaten the progress and reforms made on security, school drug and violence prevention, and emergency and disaster preparedness. In July 1, 2010, the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program was eliminated, and the U.S department of education for the financial year 2011 proposed a new school safety program. The Title IV segment of the program was eliminated despite its strong agitation for strategi es aimed at preventing drug and violence in schools. The new program proposed by the U. S department of education is shallow and fails to integrate the diverse programs that were incorporated in the Safe and Drug-Free Schools, which provided strategies to school for a decade (Trump, 1). A raging economic recession has seen cutbacks being imposed to local school budgets in an effort to channel finances to other areas that are deemed more strategic and intricate. The uncertainty of the future coupled with hasty decisions on school budget cuts may negatively impact future planning and accrue more costs. School leaders assume that the budget cuts on security, prevention, and other safety programs will be shifted to other agencies. Police, community based programs, and social service also face the same economic hard times. Moreover, education leaders and legislators have shifted their focus from school safety to performance, reforms, and meeting other state and federal expectations. Scho ol safety funding has been overridden by a focus on lobbying for academic funding and policy. In the long term, schools are most likely to face elimination of programs and staff involved in implementing school safety and prevention programs. Programs such as Youth Development Programs, Student Assistance Programs, and Professional Development Programs are will be adversely affected, as well as staff layoffs. These programs are crucial towards ensuring a safe and healthy environment. Staff reduction ultimately leads to student behavioral problems and increased security threats. This is highly because of the dramatic shift from a proactive approach to a reactive approach in school safety and prevention efforts. Consequently, the quality and quantity of services decline. This has been confirmed by a detailed report prepared by the Department of Education (Trump, 2). Schools are at the risk of declining awareness and disaster preparedness mainly because of a profound decrease in profess ional development programs. However, despite these impending damages, school leaders can keep their schools safe through implementing effective school safety communication channels within the institutions. Schools can create and update a safety Web page. This provides parents with tips and information on where to drop-off or pick-up their children. The page should have a link to the district’

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Managing under uncertainty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing under uncertainty - Essay Example This contributes to the different performances of companies that deal with products or services in a similar field. However, urgencies, as well as external and internal conditions influence the decision making of the management in organizations, whose effect could be unanticipated. Having been in operation for slightly more than 10 years, a growing business was soon headed for failure. Call it RIMPA for confidential purposes; it was established to offer transportation services for companies dealing with large cargo. Eventually, its operating commercial vehicles were hired by government companies, and beer and bottling firms, let alone the private and small scale firms. The company also run parallel businesses in agriculture and had various investments within the country. In the hard economic times of the 2007 to 2008 global recession, RIMPA had complex problems with its management branches. What later followed was questionable resource depletion and bankruptcy in some branches, since they were managed separately. The problems called for quick remedy to prevent further loss and keep the business operational. Each branch had its manager and a team of advisors as its board, then lower the operational managers, then the employees. In the general context, the top executives of the general company were separate, but involved with decisions at the branch level. Various factors were not adding up, from accounting, management, to performances; and the top executives had to step in to make the decisions. Due to the deteriorated performances and losses in three branches, they were offered for sale to minimize the loss. The managers had 3 months termination notices for what the executives believed was lost trust and management discrepancies. It was evident that the aim of their decision was to cut down costs that were already spreading to the performing branches. Initially, before their grand decision, there were some efforts to bail them out, which were initiated by the b ranches management though never successful. In the long run, the grand decision managed to save the little left, not to mention that the sales of the branches were at a loss. A good number of employees were laid off, but that ended up in court, as they sought for compensation. The whole situation affected the rest of the branches. The employees’ salaries were shrunk by 18 percent, from the middle managers to the least employees. As though never enough, the top management decided to increase the cost of their services by 12 % to maintain profits. In less than 2 months, most employees had resigned for better paying jobs in other companies. The company’s clients had also reduced their requests for services, since they opted for alternative means to transport their goods. Explaining the Decision using Bounded Rationality Theory The implications of a decision can be difficult to detect in the beginning. Most of them unfold with time, or even develop into a complex problem i f not well controlled. It is obvious that most people would feel that the decisions made in RIMPA were probably out of scope. However, placed in the situation and with similar constraints, making such decisions would have been inevitable. For this reason, the decision behavior of the top executives must have been affected by their limited cognitive capabilities. The decision behavior of humans cannot conform to the idea of full rationality because they lack unlimited cognitive capabilities (Selten, 1999). Hence, it was reasonable for the top executives

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Physics in sports Essay Example for Free

Physics in sports Essay When many people think of sports, the topic of physics doesnt always come to mind. They usually dont think about connecting athletics with academics. In reality math, science, and especially physics, tie into every aspect of sports. Sports are a commonality that brings nations together, Soccer, known as football to most of the world, is said to an unspoken language, which unties people from different lands through a passion to play a game. Athletics and sports are made by the people who play, watch, and study them. Without all of the enthusiastic participants, there would be no development, education, and intensity that we all know and love about sports. The one component that reigns over the world of sports that most people dont realize is physics, Gravity, uniform circular motion, projectile motion, and constant acceleration are a few that occur in every sport event that has ever taken place. In the three articles that I chose to write about the concepts of physics are explained in each one. In every article there is the similarity that physics and technology are the reasons for the advances in the sports. In the first article it is evident by the statement, High-tech bats have so enhanced players power that some leagues have taken to limiting the number of home runs a team can hit. (Jay Greene 2,3) Even in the second article with the statement, The higher we can get the COR, the faster the ball would shoot off from the collision ? it would go further. (Coefficient of Restitution 2,1) Lastly in the third article when the author stated, Clearly, pole-vaulting is an example of a sport in which technology has been used to improve athletic performance. (The Physics of pole-vaulting ) Without physics these technological advances could not be made. Although these technological advances dont come without some issues attached. With the new technology of the carbon and fiberglass bats, questions can be asked like, is there a point where advancements have gone too far? If bats are continuing to be modified and made to hit the ball farther, what will happen to the game of baseball? Already some bats are being banned from leagues and players feel they have to take more safety precautions because of the potential injury from the ball speed. I really believe that the bat industry will continue to thrive. As long as there are people out there willing to spend 300 dollars on an illegal bat there is money to be made. As for the golf industry there is the issue of everybody wanting to hit the ball farther, and the golf companies keep putting out new clubs that allow this to be possible. So I really think that the golf companies will continue to hover around the upper limit COR of . 83 for drivers because there is still a really high demand for drivers that hit the ball a long way. For pole-vaulting I see no issue in the near future. It will be exciting to see the new advances made to the poles and to see how high the athletes can get. As for the new sciences in the three articles I really learned a lot. I learned what the trampoline effect was and how it ties into more than just one sport. I learned what the coefficient of restitution was and how it affects the flight of a golf ball. I also learned what strain energy was and how it applies to stored energy. But most importantly I think, is that I learned that without the understanding of physics none of these sports would be organized or be able to make the advances that it has over the years. When it comes down to it everybody is affected by physics in sports. If there are rules and regulations put on products then the producers are affected greatly. The consumers are always affected by what the producers put out for them to have. If they are educated on the physics of the sport then they can make the best possible decision when it comes to picking a product. This also affects scientists; its their jobs to find ways to make the product better, in any way possible by using physics. Lastly if you are just a fan of sports it is more exciting to see the best possible entertainment, and the new technology allows for this. Looking at physics in sports and who is affected by it, its obvious to see that there is a cycle. All of the groups are linked together in one way or another. With the new technology that physics in sports allows, there are many ways that the physical science can be utilized by todays society. Giving a specific example, Baseball is Americas favorite pastime. The studies that are being done on the physics involved in baseball can greatly help the players and thus create a better sport for people to go out and watch. Baseball is a large part of our society, just like any other sport. And the knowledge of the physics involved can help make it a better sport. Staying with baseball, physical science could be utilized by the players if they study the pitcher and see if he gives certain hints that could give away what type of pitch he is throwing such as facial expressions or body movements. This would allow them more time to begin the swing and concentrate more on where the ball might end up instead of what type of pitch is coming. In general though athletes could utilize physical science. While many athletes already know how to fling a baseball, the information could be utilized to make better bats that have a larger sweet spot and also break less. Society in general could benefit because almost all things are flexible and thus have waves and vibrations. This information could be used to make roads and bridges sturdier. On the other hand though it is possible that physical science could affect society in a negative way. If scientists continue to develop new products and technology pretty soon some the world will be run by electronics and gadgets. People could lose their jobs to robots and sports would lose its competitiveness because the technology would be so advanced everybody would have and edge and skill would not shine through. All that is a stretch though, in general I believe that physical science is great for the community and there are many positive ways it can be used by todays society, not only in sports but also in everyday life. In the future I truly see all of the industries discussed in my articles thriving. There is such a high demand for sports and people trying to get any competitive advantage possible that the future looks bright. The baseball bat industry in the long run wont suffer from the new stipulation put on some of their products. Consumers will continue to buy the new bats that the bat companies put out no matter how high-tech they get. As for the golf industry I believe that it will continue to flourish even with the coefficient of restitution controversy. I dont think the USGA will budge on the . 83 upper limit for the COR of a driver on the PGA Tour but manufacturers will find a way to continue to put out new products that hit.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Audience Studies in Media

Audience Studies in Media The study of the audience has been very important in the media studies, since the power of the media in relation to the media audience could form how the society would work, what the public opinion would be and what political ideals would dominate. That is why the relationship of the audience and the media has been studies by scholars and academics since a very long time ago, leading to many theories about the subject to be developed and to a certain debate between the conceptualizations of the media audience. This essays aims to give a brief explanation of what the audience is, why it should be studied and then critically compare two conceptualisations of the media audience, the passive and the active one. The comparing will be done by presenting each theory’s main thesis and comparing them by analysing specific studies and approaches that were conducted to support each theory. Any group of people who are gathered in the same place and act as observers or spectators of something are considered an audience (Media and Communications course, Lecture 6: Media Audiences/lecture slides). Audience has existed since ancient times, particularly in Ancient Greece where people gathered in town centres to discuss about community problems. What we nowadays refer to as a media audience has been developed through the years as a result of industrialization, technological developments and several changes in people’s everyday lives. When people started to massively move from villages to industrialised cities, a mass society began to develop so it also became important that this new form of audience had to be studied in relation to the media of its time. What influence the media had on the audience, how the audience used the media in their everyday lives and how the media industry could attract more audience for their own profit (Williams,2003, McCullagh,2002) The main views on the mass society or mass audience research, that first appeared in the 1920s-1930s (McCullagh, 2002) were that the audience was consisted of a large public of consumers of mainstream media texts who were influenced by the rapid changes in society, the unstable family ties due to urbanization and the anonymity of the crowds (McCullagh, 2002), thus they became a vulnerable mass of ‘isolated and defenceless individuals’ (Williams, 2003). This situation positioned the media in a place where it could easily manipulate the unsuspected audience. That is why the media were used by authoritarian governments, like Hitler’s Nazi Party, for propaganda purposes. They would pass on their ideologies, usually political ones, and the audience would believe them without questioning. People were so passive that they would easily believe anything they would hear on the radio or read in a newspaper. Probably the most famous incident that proves this was the public pa nic that occurred in Los Angeles, when a radio broadcast of a science-fiction book called War of the Worlds was aired in 1938 (McCullagh, 2002). When people heard the broadcast they actually believed that a Martian invasion was happening and some of them tried to escape and save themselves. This incident is a great example of the Hypodermic Needle Theory that existed at the time. This theory parallelises the media as a needle that injects a message straight into the passive audience, which is immediately affected by it (Croteu, Hoynes,1997) and like drug-users lose their control and judgement once they are injected with drugs, so does the audience lose its critical judgement when injected with ideas and beliefs by the media (McCullagh, 2002). As the years passed by though and even more technological developments were invented, like film and television, researchers started to question the traditional effects research of the mass society. New studies and experiments on how the audience interprets media texts resulted to several researchers to conclude that the audience is not passive and vulnerable but instead is an active and differentiated audience consisted of groups or individuals and not masses. This new theory, the Active Audience theory concentrated on how audience interprets and makes meaning of media texts based on several factors, such as gender, age, social background, education, ideals, beliefs or family position (Williams, 2003, McCullagh, 2002). As McCullagh put it ‘media audiences are consisted of different individuals who turn to the media to gratify their needs’ (2002). Gradually new theories were developed that replaced the Hypodermic Needle theory and made it antiquated. Stuart Hall developed the Encoding/Decoding theory in 1973, with which he questioned the traditional effects theory and concentrated more on how ‘the content of media texts is encoded ideologically by the audience’ (Williams, 2003). He suggested that media producers encoded what appeared to be a ‘preferred meaning’ in media messages and then the audience was supposed to understand and decode it (Williams, 2003), thus making the relationship between media and audience more like a collaboration or an interplay. As it was obvious though a media text could not be decoded the same way by everyone, due to people’s differences in several aspects, so he concluded that there were three kinds of decoding a media message: the dominant, the negotiated and the oppositional (Williams, 2003, McCullagh, 2002, Deveraux, 2003). As Williams puts it ‘this model emphasises the interaction between the audience and texts as well as the social context within which such interaction happens ’ (2003). The development of the new theories, not surprisingly, led to debates between the active audience theorists and the traditional effects theorists. The new theory of Uses and Gratifications was an approach to understand how and why people use the media to satisfy certain needs (McCullagh, 2002). In comparison with the Hypodermic Needle theory, the Uses and Gratifications not only does not ignore people’s free will, personality and cultural background (The New Audience Research in Media Studies, http://www.le.ac.uk/oerresources/media/ms7500/mod1unit6/page_02.htm, 05/01/2015), it considers them to be active with the power to choose what media they consume. The audience ‘use programme content for purposes other than what might be predicted from their content’ (McCullagh, 2002), which leads to media producers or industries to compete with each other over who will offer the best way for the users’ needs to be gratified. In that way the audience is definitely not considered a passive one which completely accepts the media’s intended message, as the Hypodermic Needle theory suggested. Nevertheless, the debate between the active audience and the traditional effects theorists still goes on, with some of the researchers arguing that the new active audience approaches are ‘too behaviourist and functionalist’ (McQuail, 2010) and that their conclusions lead to an elimination of media power, which was considered essential for ‘shaping the knowledge, understandings and beliefs of the audience’ (Williams, 2003). Also, Kitzinger(1999) wondered whether the audience’s resistance on media messages, as a form of resistance to the status quo, should be praised, since that way people would also easily reject good messages provided by the media, such as safe sex advertisements or campaigns against violence. Even though audience is not considered a mass of ‘couch potatoes’ (Williams, 2003) anymore, whether we are aware of it or not, we all have some certain beliefs and ideals that have been somehow shaped by different types of media, such as the idea of the perfect body that is being advertised today by several model agencies or women magazines. But that does not mean that people do not have the intelligence to make decisions for themselves about what to believe (Williams, 2003). Despite the on-going criticism by the traditional effects theorists, the new audience researchers developed new methods of studying the audience, which focused more on the qualitative rather than the quantitative approach (Williams, 2003). These methods, referred to as the ethnographic turn in media studies, concentrated more on how people were involved with the media and the research was done mostly with participant observation techniques. Unlike the traditional effects research that used surveys o r questionnaires, researchers spent time with the people they were investigating observing their experiences with the media (Williams, 2003). However, there has been criticism on this approach too. Ruddock (2001), for example noted that ‘ethnography requires participants to make personal feelings public. As a result there is a considerable tendency towards self-censorship’, implying that the conclusions resulting from ethnographic research could not possibly present the real truth from the audiences’ perspective. He also questioned how the research questions could be generated in a way that they would respect the natural world of the audience and be appropriate with the field of study in general (Ruddock, 2001). Even though there are many theories that support each thesis, the debate between the traditional effects studies and the active audience theory has been intense and is still on-going (McCullagh, 2002, Williams, 2003). If we were to think about which conceptualisation would best represent today’s society and people, I would say that the active theories concerning this study, including the Uses and Gratifications and the Encoding/Decoding model, position the audience in an active place, where not only it is not exploited by the media, it can even have power over it. Media producers take people’s preferences into consideration so they can produce what would satisfy their audience more (Williams, 2003, McCullagh, 2002, Deveraux, 2003, McQuail, 2010). And since there are arguments that suppose that media takes over people’s lives thus making them ‘couch potatoes’ in another sense of the term (Williams, 2003) the rebuttal would be that nowadays the audienc e knows what it wants in a way that the different types of media work as e ‘menu’ for them to choose from, in order to satisfy their needs to escape their daily routines, educate themselves or even interact socially (Williams, 2003, McCullagh, 2002). Always based on their individual needs and preferences, which is closer to our modern and liberal society. To sum things up, it is now obvious that the study of the audience has been a big chapter in the book of media studies, with many scholars and academics finding themselves engaging with this study. That explains all the experiments, studies and research that have been conducted on the subject, since it concentrates on two different types of audience, which in relation to the media could easily shape the way our society would work. Whether the media would dominate over the audience or the other way around. Since the debate of the subject is still on-going and the opinions diverge, the answer of which model would be the best cannot be absolute. Maybe a combination of the two could function well in the future, but until then the active audience theory seems to be the one closest to our society’s standards nowadays.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

William Shakespeares Othello as a Classic Tragic Hero Essay -- GCSE C

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Simply defined, a tragedy always entails the downfall of the protagonist. As a common standard in tragedy, the protagonist, or "tragic hero" is of high standing who is faced with some opposing force whether internal or external. "Tragedy is the imitation of an action; and an action implies personal agents, who necessarily possess certain distinctive qualities both of character and thought; for it is by these that we qualify actions themselves, and these- thought and character- are the two natural causes from which actions spring, and on actions, again all success or failure depends...." This excerpt from Aristotle's Poetics illustrates an aspect of tragedy upon which many works, including Shakespeare's Othello, are based. In Poetics, Aristotle expresses the writer's obligation to create what is known as a "tragic hero" in all forms of tragedy. He further explains that this persona must be dominated by a "hamartia" or tragic flaw which leads to his downfall. Prevalently in Othello, the protagonist, Othello, can be seen as a classic tragic hero who is opposed by the strong force of his innate naivetà © and over-trust as flaws in his otherwise virtuous character. Through the rapid development of the play, we see Othello's character disintegrate as a result of his growing jealousy and are finally stricken by a powerful catharsis where despite his wrongdoing, the reader feels pity for Othello and his mis... ...ty of Nebraska Press, 1993.    Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. ?The Engaging Qualities of Othello.? Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Introduction to The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. N. p.: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1957

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Origin and Fate of the Empire of Mali :: World History

Origin and Fate of the Empire of Mali Introduction In its peak, the people of Mali occupied land as far west as the Atlantic Ocean. They also traveled as far east as Gao, the capital of the Songhai, as far south as the Niger bend, and as far north as the Sahara desert. They built a great empire between 1240 and 1337 that underwent a course of slow decline until the seventeenth century. History The empire of Mali originated from a small country known as Kangaba. Its people where known as the Mandingo (they have also been called the Malinke and the Mandinka). After the breakup of Ghana, the Sosso, who had caused the breakup, were still in power. Apparently Sundiata, an heir to the Mandingo throne raised an army and defeated the Sosso in the battle of Kirina. Afterward, Sundiata established the empire of Mali. He converted to Islam for support of the Muslim peoples. When Mansa Musa came into power, in the early 1300s, the empire reached its height. Mansa Musa traveled through Cairo on his pilgrimage to Mecca. It is said that he gave away so much gold that it dropped in value in Cairo for 12 years. Afterward the empire slowly declined, until, in the 1600s it was no more than it had been originally when it originated: the small kingdom of Kangaba. Government The government of Mali was a dictatorship. The dictator, who had the title of Mansa, was the sole secular and religious leader of his people, though not he did not enjoy the same power as Egyptian Pharaohs did. The base of government was located in the capital, known as Niani. It was once written by a traveler that a person could travel safely without fear of harm, and that the people of Mali hated injustice and the Mansa did not tolerate injustice at all. The military branch of government was constant. There was a standing army of professional soldiers, so that Mali was ready for a battle without having to raise an army every time. Religion The religion in Mali was divided between two groups. The merchants, traders, and government officials, including the Mansa, were Islam, though, apparently, they did not adhere to it very well. Women were allowed freedom and even the Mansa still believed in the "spirit of the land." The basic peasant farmer believed in a "spirit of the land" to whom he prayed so that

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Placebo and Justinus :: Papers

Placebo and Justinus After discussing the dangers and advantages of marrying young women, January asks friends for advice. Placebo [Latin, "I will please"] flatters him, telling him he is right to marry a young woman. Justinus [L. "just one"] warns him of the dangers he risks and counsels him not to marry, based on his own experience as a married man. January does what he wants, in the end, and suffers for it. Their speeches are almost a little play about bad and good advice. Are they played for satiric/comic effect, or do they seem to tend toward tragedy? Especially note the way January responds to their advice (IV.1566-1571). January then discussed his problem with his friends and expressed his desire to marry a very young maiden of not more than twenty years old. This led to a great debate and a dispute between the Knight’s brothers named Placebo and Justinus. While Placebo told January to take his own decision without taking anybody’s opinion into consideration, Justinus counseled against marriage since women are fickle. January then decided to get married. January, wished to have a young wife of no older than thirty, for a young wife would be more pliable, but Placebo warned him that it takes great courage for such an aged man to take a young wife. He warned him of the misery that can come from taking a wife, for she could be shrewish or a drunkard, facts that a husband will not learn until well into the marriage. Despite the common opinion that Placebo has a wonderful wife, he knows what faults she has. They argue about the merits of marriage, with Placebo predicting that January will not please his wife for more than three years, but Placebo eventually assents to January's plan. January finally decided to take a young and pretty wife, foolishly believing that nobody would find fault with his choice. He spoke to Placebo and his friends about his choice, praising his intended wife. January, however, worries that a man who finds

Communicative Approach

MY BEST APROCHE IN ENGLISH LANGUAJE TEACHING : THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROCHE I. Problems in the present English teaching and causes of these problems II. Introduce the communicative approach 1. The definition of communicative approach 2. Two principles of communicative approach †¢ Create a realistic situation †¢ The class should be students-centered III. Adopt communicative approach to improve students ability to listen and speak, and achieve the goal of English teaching 1. Three stages in communicative teaching 2. Communicative activities in class . Achieve the goal of English teaching through communicative approach IV. Conclusion ____________________________________________________________ _________ Abstract Language is a means of communication. Although it is not the only form of communication among human beings, it is certainly the most important. English teaching is to teach the students how to communicate with each other, to train the students good and complete language ability, to express their ideas correctly and to easily adjust themselves to every kind of social situation. English teaching is a case in point. This paper is to discuss some problems of present English teaching approach, to state the principles and advantages of communicative approach, and to give some advice on how to make the English class more communicative and improve the student’s ability of listening and speaking. I. Problems in the present English teaching and causes of these problems As present, English teaching reform has been carried out in schools, some teaching reform has been succeeded, but there are still some problems in English teaching. The students who have had several years of training in English with classical approaches are still unable to actually use the language. For example, the students can’t understand what the teachers have said and they can’t express themselves, their ability of listening and speaking is not up to standard, and also they can’t communicate with others in English. Now the teachers have been faced with the problem of improving the student’s ability of listening and speaking. II. Introduce the communicative approach 1. The definition of communicative approach Communicative approach refers to the theory of teaching according to the principle that the students and teachers should genuinely communicate with each other using the target language. 2. Two principles of communicative approach Among the numerous principles of communicative approach, there are two pieces of principles, which are more important English teaching. 2. 1 Create more realistic situation The current teaching methods don’t emphasize the real world situations and fail to cultivate student’s spontaneity. Artificial conventions and mechanical question-and-answer sequences fall short of the flexible, spontaneous kind of communicative interaction required for performing a task with the context of situation relevant to the real world. Such classroom teaching forces learners to talk about things that are not of their own choosing and not based on their actual needs. Taught in this way, the learners frequently fail when they are faced with the read to produce the language related to a specific situation. Simulation techniques seem to be a better alternative, as they seek to place learners in a situation where they are asked to take on different roles and to. Accomplish their specific tasks, including problem solving. They offer an opportunity for the learners to practice using the language in the right place at the right time and as appropriately as possible. The most obvious advantage of these kind of techniques is that it puts the learners in realistic situations. By simulating the physical circumstances of certain situations, the students can have the opportunity to use and to practice the sort of language, particularly the vocabulary related to that situation, so that learners are rehearsed for real life. In addition, they can express what they want to say whenever the situation calls for it. The teacher provides the best conditions for learning through creating the realist situation. 2. 2 The class should be students-centered The focus of classroom should be shifted from the teacher to students. The teacher does most the talking and always has the whole class under his strict control by lecturing, questioning, correcting students and often supplying correct answers to the exercises. In such a class, the teacher is obviously the most authoritative person. Students always act according to what the teacher wants them to accomplish put not what they themselves want to accomplish. So it appears that sometimes, even if the students have understood the text they are reading, they do not have the courage to speak out when called upon, for fear that they may not be right. The class should be learners-centered. Communicative approach makes learners to be themselves and requires the classroom instructor to play a secondary role, trying to keep focus on the students not on himself and encouraging students to communicate among themselves. The role and relationship between the teacher and students are fixed by the students-centered principle. It is to say that the students are the main part in communication, while the teacher helps the students to communicate. III. Adopt communicative approach to improve students ability to listen and peaking 1. Three stages of communicative teaching The teacher can divide the student’s learning into three stages: 1. – The first stage, the teacher is a sort of information: he selects material to be learnt and presents it so that the students can understand it and remember it as clearly as possible. The students may do little talking but they should by no means be passive. 2. – The second stage is the p ractice stage. Let the students do the talking organized from cue by the teacher: this practice should be meaningful and memorable. 3. The third stage makes the students to be allowed, under the guidance of the teacher, to use the language freely, even if they make some mistakes as a result. This requires a more flexible attitude from the teachers to mistakes, if the student is constantly stopped and corrected, then eventually he will become discouraged and cease to be motivated to speak. If the students can use the language for themselves, then they become aware that they have learnt something useful and are encouraged to go on learning: perhaps the most important factor is to keep up motivation in the learning process itself. We always talk about listening and speaking together. We must be aware of the fact that oral communication is a two-way process between speakers and listeners. In our class, both the teacher and students are speakers and listeners 2. The class communicative activities Communicative activity provides opportunities for positive personal relationships to develop among learners and teachers. Because of the limitation of the classroom, this requires the teacher to create more various social situations and relationships in the class. 1. Simulation: Learners are asked to imagine themselves in a situation which would occur outside the classroom, and they are asked to behave as if the situation really excited. 2. -Role-playing: is one method of getting the students to imagine they are someone else and play that part. 3. -Discussion: They must present their views in a more public context, there are sticker rules governing who speaks, when and to whom, and a higher level of formality is expecte d. The student’s ability of listening and speaking can be improved in discussions. 4. Interaction: There will also be increasing scope which gives learners greater responsibility for creating the interaction themselves. 5. -Pictures: Extremely useful visual aid. Pictures of people and places are much more interesting than ordinary objects. This is another chance for group work and genuine discussion. Other teaching aids are important techniques for creating a wider variety of social situations and relationships. Communicative activities are very important in language learning. It may be useful to consider briefly what the teacher might hope to achieve through the communicative activity in the classroom. Since this will determine his own attitude toward it and what he gives it in his overall methodology. The learners ultimate objective is to take part in communication with others. Their motivation to learn is more likely to be sustained if they can see how their classroom learning is related to this objective and helps them to achieve it with increasing success. . IV. Conclusion The traditional methods of teaching do not allow the learners to express their own ideas, activities and personality, which is though t to be important especially for students. For example, mechanical drills do not allow the students to express their own ideas, therefore, they will not be interested in listening, and their listening efficiency will be impaired. Under the present situation, communicative approach is a better way to improve our English teaching. For the teachers, the new method means more varieties to devise the lessons; for the students as well, the new method more opportunities to practice their listening and speaking, and to have the freedom to express themselves. Thus, the communicative approach makes the teaching more fulfilling. Just as some linguists have said: English language teaching should be made of communication by communication and for communication. English language teaching is an interdisciplinary subject for which human communication is an important source. The communicative approach is no doubt a manifestation of how this theory can be applied in the student’s English learning. It is a good teaching method to improve the student’s ability of listening and speaking. Communicative Approach MY BEST APROCHE IN ENGLISH LANGUAJE TEACHING : THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROCHE I. Problems in the present English teaching and causes of these problems II. Introduce the communicative approach 1. The definition of communicative approach 2. Two principles of communicative approach †¢ Create a realistic situation †¢ The class should be students-centered III. Adopt communicative approach to improve students ability to listen and speak, and achieve the goal of English teaching 1. Three stages in communicative teaching 2. Communicative activities in class . Achieve the goal of English teaching through communicative approach IV. Conclusion ____________________________________________________________ _________ Abstract Language is a means of communication. Although it is not the only form of communication among human beings, it is certainly the most important. English teaching is to teach the students how to communicate with each other, to train the students good and complete language ability, to express their ideas correctly and to easily adjust themselves to every kind of social situation. English teaching is a case in point. This paper is to discuss some problems of present English teaching approach, to state the principles and advantages of communicative approach, and to give some advice on how to make the English class more communicative and improve the student’s ability of listening and speaking. I. Problems in the present English teaching and causes of these problems As present, English teaching reform has been carried out in schools, some teaching reform has been succeeded, but there are still some problems in English teaching. The students who have had several years of training in English with classical approaches are still unable to actually use the language. For example, the students can’t understand what the teachers have said and they can’t express themselves, their ability of listening and speaking is not up to standard, and also they can’t communicate with others in English. Now the teachers have been faced with the problem of improving the student’s ability of listening and speaking. II. Introduce the communicative approach 1. The definition of communicative approach Communicative approach refers to the theory of teaching according to the principle that the students and teachers should genuinely communicate with each other using the target language. 2. Two principles of communicative approach Among the numerous principles of communicative approach, there are two pieces of principles, which are more important English teaching. 2. 1 Create more realistic situation The current teaching methods don’t emphasize the real world situations and fail to cultivate student’s spontaneity. Artificial conventions and mechanical question-and-answer sequences fall short of the flexible, spontaneous kind of communicative interaction required for performing a task with the context of situation relevant to the real world. Such classroom teaching forces learners to talk about things that are not of their own choosing and not based on their actual needs. Taught in this way, the learners frequently fail when they are faced with the read to produce the language related to a specific situation. Simulation techniques seem to be a better alternative, as they seek to place learners in a situation where they are asked to take on different roles and to. Accomplish their specific tasks, including problem solving. They offer an opportunity for the learners to practice using the language in the right place at the right time and as appropriately as possible. The most obvious advantage of these kind of techniques is that it puts the learners in realistic situations. By simulating the physical circumstances of certain situations, the students can have the opportunity to use and to practice the sort of language, particularly the vocabulary related to that situation, so that learners are rehearsed for real life. In addition, they can express what they want to say whenever the situation calls for it. The teacher provides the best conditions for learning through creating the realist situation. 2. 2 The class should be students-centered The focus of classroom should be shifted from the teacher to students. The teacher does most the talking and always has the whole class under his strict control by lecturing, questioning, correcting students and often supplying correct answers to the exercises. In such a class, the teacher is obviously the most authoritative person. Students always act according to what the teacher wants them to accomplish put not what they themselves want to accomplish. So it appears that sometimes, even if the students have understood the text they are reading, they do not have the courage to speak out when called upon, for fear that they may not be right. The class should be learners-centered. Communicative approach makes learners to be themselves and requires the classroom instructor to play a secondary role, trying to keep focus on the students not on himself and encouraging students to communicate among themselves. The role and relationship between the teacher and students are fixed by the students-centered principle. It is to say that the students are the main part in communication, while the teacher helps the students to communicate. III. Adopt communicative approach to improve students ability to listen and peaking 1. Three stages of communicative teaching The teacher can divide the student’s learning into three stages: 1. – The first stage, the teacher is a sort of information: he selects material to be learnt and presents it so that the students can understand it and remember it as clearly as possible. The students may do little talking but they should by no means be passive. 2. – The second stage is the p ractice stage. Let the students do the talking organized from cue by the teacher: this practice should be meaningful and memorable. 3. The third stage makes the students to be allowed, under the guidance of the teacher, to use the language freely, even if they make some mistakes as a result. This requires a more flexible attitude from the teachers to mistakes, if the student is constantly stopped and corrected, then eventually he will become discouraged and cease to be motivated to speak. If the students can use the language for themselves, then they become aware that they have learnt something useful and are encouraged to go on learning: perhaps the most important factor is to keep up motivation in the learning process itself. We always talk about listening and speaking together. We must be aware of the fact that oral communication is a two-way process between speakers and listeners. In our class, both the teacher and students are speakers and listeners 2. The class communicative activities Communicative activity provides opportunities for positive personal relationships to develop among learners and teachers. Because of the limitation of the classroom, this requires the teacher to create more various social situations and relationships in the class. 1. Simulation: Learners are asked to imagine themselves in a situation which would occur outside the classroom, and they are asked to behave as if the situation really excited. 2. -Role-playing: is one method of getting the students to imagine they are someone else and play that part. 3. -Discussion: They must present their views in a more public context, there are sticker rules governing who speaks, when and to whom, and a higher level of formality is expecte d. The student’s ability of listening and speaking can be improved in discussions. 4. Interaction: There will also be increasing scope which gives learners greater responsibility for creating the interaction themselves. 5. -Pictures: Extremely useful visual aid. Pictures of people and places are much more interesting than ordinary objects. This is another chance for group work and genuine discussion. Other teaching aids are important techniques for creating a wider variety of social situations and relationships. Communicative activities are very important in language learning. It may be useful to consider briefly what the teacher might hope to achieve through the communicative activity in the classroom. Since this will determine his own attitude toward it and what he gives it in his overall methodology. The learners ultimate objective is to take part in communication with others. Their motivation to learn is more likely to be sustained if they can see how their classroom learning is related to this objective and helps them to achieve it with increasing success. . IV. Conclusion The traditional methods of teaching do not allow the learners to express their own ideas, activities and personality, which is though t to be important especially for students. For example, mechanical drills do not allow the students to express their own ideas, therefore, they will not be interested in listening, and their listening efficiency will be impaired. Under the present situation, communicative approach is a better way to improve our English teaching. For the teachers, the new method means more varieties to devise the lessons; for the students as well, the new method more opportunities to practice their listening and speaking, and to have the freedom to express themselves. Thus, the communicative approach makes the teaching more fulfilling. Just as some linguists have said: English language teaching should be made of communication by communication and for communication. English language teaching is an interdisciplinary subject for which human communication is an important source. The communicative approach is no doubt a manifestation of how this theory can be applied in the student’s English learning. It is a good teaching method to improve the student’s ability of listening and speaking.